Mage Armor

[Flatliner]

Does Mage armor Stack with normal armor? I'm told it does not, but I do not see where it says it does.

[RainyDayNinja]

It doesn't because mage armor gives you an armor bonus to AC. So it doesn't stack with other things that give you armor bonuses to AC, such as armor.

[Jiggy]

Very first chapter of the Core Rulebook wrote:

Most bonuses have a type, and as a general rule, bonuses of the same type are not cumulative (do not “stack”)—only the greater bonus granted applies.

Mage armor and actual armor both give you an "armor bonus" to AC. The bonus type is "armor", and the above rule applies.

EDIT: Ninja'd! On a rainy day!

[Jack R Brown]

There is one situation, though, that it might help... since Mage Armor is a force effect, it would give a benefit if attacked by incorporeal monsters...

The greater of the two armor bonuses would apply. Example... a fighter in a Breastplate is attacked by shadows and zombies. The wizard casts Mage Armor on him, giving him a +4 armor bonus against the shadows, and a +6 vs the zombies.

Or, at least this is how I understand it.

[Taenia]

Note Mage Armor can help if the target normally has an armor bonus lowered than 4.

Imagine a rogue at 3rd level wearing leather armor. He has a 18 dex and a ring of protection +1 for an AC of 17. A friendly mage pops mage armor from a wand on him just before the big boss and for an hour is AC jumps to 19 (4 armor, 4 dex, 1 ring)

Mage Armor is also nice for shapeshifting types that lose their armor. Druids for example have 3 options for getting an armor bonus while wild shaping:

Wild Armor (expensive at least 16k +)
Barding for the specific animal form (put on after wild shaping)
Mage Armor Spell

Barding can also include ice armor, a 1st level spell that makes a Breastplate made of Ice.

[Flatliner]

Ok thanks guys!